Station Cited in Report on Shootings by Deputies

Deputies at the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Century station get involved in “an unusually high number” of shootings compared to police officers who patrol very similar turf, according to a report released Wednesday.

Attorney Merrick Bobb, a special counsel appointed by the Board of Supervisors to monitor the Sheriff’s Department, found that deputies at the South-Central Los Angeles station fired their weapons three times more often than those at any other station in 1995 and 1996 and led the department in shootings last year.

Compared to officers at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southeast Division--who patrol neighborhoods next to the Century station’s territory--deputies were much more likely to have shootouts with suspects. In 1996, for example, both agencies reported nearly the same number of homicides, assaults and other violent crimes, but only three incidents involving LAPD officers ended in shootings, compared to 14 shooting incidents with deputies.

The 97-page report has political implications, since incumbent Sheriff Sherman Block is squaring off in a runoff election with former Sheriff’s Chief Lee Baca, who supervised the Century station until his retirement last week.

“What [Bobb] is saying about the Century station is fact as far as the numbers, but there is a lot of conjecture in there as to why things are happening. . . . I don’t think anybody can say what the correct number of shootings is,” Block said in an interview.

Baca did not return calls for comment.

Bobb said the higher number of shooting incidents at the Century station seem to be linked to deputies who are younger, have less experience, are poorly trained and have “barely adequate” levels of supervision.

Moreover, the deputies who work at the Century station do not reflect the diversity of the residents who live in the troubled 13-square-mile stretch of land in the heart of South-Central Los Angeles. The station has few African American deputies, few women and only a handful of people who can speak Spanish in the largely Latino community.

“The overall impression of Century station is a lack of ‘fit’ between the station and the environment in which it operates,” Bobb concludes. “It is not the youngest and most inexperienced deputies who should staff Century station, rather it should have the cream of the crop.”

But that is far from the situation, Bobb states.

He found that deputies view the Century station as an undesirable long-term assignment, a place “to get their ticket punched,” leading to a high turnover rate. Deputies who stay are often perceived as “cowboys.”

“The department has not dealt this station’s management team an easy hand to play,” the report states. On the other hand, the report says the station’s managers could do a better job.

“Our strong sense is that the Century station has not been particularly carefully managed and supervised with respect to liability management, training and deputy performance issues,” the report states. “Nor has the station been managed so as to attract and retain women and minorities.”

Despite the critical nature of his report, Bobb noted that there have been “substantially fewer” shooting so far this year--perhaps, he suggested, because managers have started to focus on the problem.

Training and supervision are among the biggest concerns raised in the report. Currently, 24 of 180 patrol deputies at the Century station are trainees. The department “has been forced to dig deep into its ranks” to find enough training officers to work with the new deputies.

In fact, there have been times--albeit infrequent--when deputies with only 1 1/2 years of experience have served as training officers. Bobb suggested in his report that training officers be given financial incentives to remain at the Century station. He also recommended that the department reduce the number of trainees assigned to the station.

The high number of shootings, however, is not all the fault of rookie deputies, according to the report.

Although department officials say they would like a sergeant-to-patrol deputy ratio of 8 to 1, Century station frequently only has one sergeant for every 20 or 25 deputies.

“Indeed, there is a shortage of supervisors at Century,” the report says.

The Century station was established in 1994 when two “problematic” stations--Lynwood and Firestone--merged and annexed additional high-crime territory previously patrolled by the Carson station, the report says. The Lynwood and Firestone stations had reputations several years ago for housing “overly aggressive” deputies, the report adds.

Sheriff’s Department officials attributed the high rate of shootings to the violent environment in which deputies work. Bobb and his colleagues disputed that contention, but did agree that criminal activity in the area put deputies in more volatile situations than other stations. According to Bobb’s report, more than half of the 14 shootings in 1997 occurred during foot and vehicle pursuits.

Block defended the work of his deputies and the training they receive. “There has been tremendous progress there and throughout the department to minimize the number of force incidents,” he said.

The sheriff added that more deputies have been killed in the line of duty in Century station than in any other area patrolled by the department.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Sheriff’s Department Shootings

Shootings involving Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies, compared to other police agencies.

Sheriff’s Dept. (2.5 million people in jurisdiction)

1994

Total shooting incidents (suspect hit): 28.00

Total incidents per 100,000 population: 2.00

Suspects killed: 17.00

Suspects killed per 100,000: .68

*

1995

Total shooting incidents (suspect hit): 34.00

Total incidents per 100,000 population: 2.40

Suspects killed: 10.00

Suspects killed per 100,000: .40

*

1996

Total shooting incidents (suspect hit): 26.00

Total incidents per 100,000 population: 1.80

Suspects killed: 14.00

Suspects killed per 100,000: .56

*

LAPD: (3.4 million people in jurisdiction)

1994

Total shooting incidents (suspect hit): 41.00

Total incidents per 100,000 population: 2.20

Suspects killed: 13.00

Suspects killed per 100,000: .38

*

1995

Total shooting incidents (suspect hit): 45.00

Total incidents per 100,000 population: 2.30

Suspects killed: 17.00

Suspects killed per 100,000: .50

*

1996

Total shooting incidents (suspect hit): 51.00

Total incidents per 100,000 population: 2.50

Suspects killed: 20.00

Suspects killed per 100,000: .59

*

NYPD: (7.3 million people in jurisdiction)

1994

Total incidents per 100,000 population: 2.50

Suspects killed: 30.00

Suspects killed per 100,000: .41

*

1995

Total incidents per 100,000 population: 2.30

Suspects killed: 26.00

Suspects killed per 100,000: .36

*

1996

Total incidents per 100,000 population: 2.30

Suspects killed: 30.00

Suspects killed per 100,000: .41

Deputy-Involved Shootings

Sheriff’s station:

Shootings, 1994-97:

*

Sheriff’s station:

Shootings, 1994-97:

*

Sheriff’s station:

Shootings, 1994-97:

*

Sheriff’s station:

Shootings, 1994-97:

*

Sheriff’s station:

Shootings, 1994-97:

*

Sheriff’s station:

Shootings, 1994-97:

*

2 Stations

Number of shooting incidents in 1996 in the Century station area compared to LAPD’s Southeast station, which encompasses most of the same area:

*

Station: Century

Shootings: 14 *

Station: Southeast

Shootings: 3

Source: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department